PACE in National Journal: “2012: The Year of EPA Accountability?”
U.S. Must Take Reliability Threats Seriously
January 4, 2012Report Says Wind Not the Answer
January 11, 2012This week, the National Journal posed the question, “What’s in Store for 2012?” More specifically, “What energy and environment issues should President Obama and Congress focus on this year?” As part of the publication’s panel of energy and environment experts, PACE offered the following response, entitled “2012: The Year of EPA Accountability?”
“Many Americans would probably agree that the primary concern of Congress and the Administration in 2012 should be the economy. But fixing the national debt is not exclusive to cutting costs and slashing budgets; it’s also about preventing legislation and regulations that will ultimately damage the nation’s economic well-being, and limit its ability to recover from these unprecedentedly trying economic conditions. Take for example, the discreet finalization of the Utility MACT rule right before the holidays. While, on the surface, this regulation makes the simple claim that its goal is for power plants to reduce emissions of mercury within the next three years, it does not mention the damaging results of what that unrealistic and unfair timeframe will be: a cost of nearly $11 billion annually; the closure of dozens of power plants and loss of an estimated million jobs over the next decade; a serious threat to the reliability of the nation’s power grid; and a burden on consumers who will have to deal with higher power bills.”
